Monsters Inc 2: Through the Closet Once More
by nineteennintytwo
Summary: Mary Gibbs was a girl who very often allowed herself to fall into a daydream. A daydream about the place she once encountered as a little girl. But she was unaware of just how soon she would be returning. STORY UP FOR ADOPTION.
1. Prologue

Er, hi.

As you can see, I'm pretty new to this category. But this is something which has been swimming around in my mind for a long time, and I've finally been able to write the first chapter. The story is basically how I think the sequel should be written, if they ever do one. So as it's my first for this movie, excuse me if the characters seem a little out of character. That still doesn't mean that you shouldn't read this, though.

Disclaimer: Disney owns Monsters Inc. Any characters you do not recognize belong to me.

I hope you all like the story.

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Prologue

Mary Gibbs was a girl who very often allowed herself to fall into a daydream.

It wasn't unusual for a girl to daydream. Whether it was in school or at home listening to parents chatting about some subject or other, it was not unusual for a child to lose interest and fall into a dream of their own. Well, maybe if this child was five, six or even seven, it would not be unusual.

But for a thirteen-year-old girl, it was very unusual.

She was nicknamed the daydreamer at her school. Always off in a world of her own, and not paying any attention to anyone or anything. She didn't try to make friends. Whenever she felt lonely, she would create her own friends, and they would play together until the last bell rang. She would talk aloud to herself, and to anyone else but her, it would look like she was talking to thin air. Of course, when she was younger, she was seen as a child with an over active imagination.

At thirteen, she was seen as a weirdo girl with problems.

But no one picked on her for it. In the eyes of the other children, Mary Gibbs was a loner; whenever they had tried to make fun of her in the past, she would just ignore them and carry on chatting to the invisible companions she believed were with her. She was not worth the other kids time, so they just left her alone. But some of the more curious kids would wonder what she dreams about, and what sort of friends she would imagine.

If only they knew. Oh, if only they knew.

Because Mary Gibbs would dream about a world beyond the closet door. A world she had stumbled upon as a three-year-old girl. It was still there in her mind; fuzzy, but still there. When she dreamed, she would remember all the creatures she met there and befriended, or on the other hand, made enemies with. It was all she could do to stop the memories from fading altogether, which she feared was beginning to happen.

And in truth, this was exactly what was happening.

For as every day passed on by, and Mary awoke every morning, a small part of the memory would have vanished from her brain, and she would know. As a child, the memory had been big, but now that she was a teenager, the memory was small. Instead of feeling like a memory, the images which flashed across her brain would feel like a dream. Dreams that would still haunt her sleep, but Mary found that even they were getting scattered and a lot less clearer.

So she would draw. She would write. Everything that she could remember, she would record in her journal. Her artistic skills and Creative Writing skills improved because of this, but she never let anyone see the memories of her time through the closet. Not her father, nor her mother. Instead, she would flick through the pages whenever she was alone, the memories recorded inside of it being enough to keep her looking at them for hours.

And there was one picture in particular which she would spend most of her time looking at. It was a picture which she had drawn at age three, of herself holding hands with a big blue creature, who she knew in her heart, was as gentle as a butterfly. Despite his size and appearance.

The journal was filled with other pictures, of all the other creatures who she had encountered. A small green monster with one eye, who was round and had small horns on his head. A female monster, who looked a little like Medusa, with snakes for hair and scaly skin. Then there was a slug-like monster, with glasses and a red cardigan, and in some ways resembled the office lady at Mary's school.

Of course, Mary didn't leave the enemy monsters out. She had only dared to draw two pictures of them, for their looks and abilities still haunted her, despite not being scared of them any longer. One was a spider-like monster, wearing a neatly-cut waistcoat and a bow tie, and like a spider, hand lots of eyes. Then there was the other one; a purple lizard-like monster, who could camouflage himself like a chameleon, and no one would be able to see him. In her dream, Mary had defeated him, but he still made her shudder.

But of course, despite of all this, Mary still questioned whether it had all been real, or if she had just been dreaming it all up. She had only been three, after all; at a young age such as that, it was hard to tell the difference between dreams and reality. It had felt very real, but at the same time, what had happened to her was something like an adventure story, or a fantasy tale. And they were all just fiction, right?

Mary felt like an Alice; a girl who had experienced a realistic dream which made her question the reality of it. Just like Alice In Wonderland, some part of Mary told her that it was all nonsense, and that she should just forget about it and grow up. This was also told to her by her mother, who wanted her to grow up and act her age more than anything. But and even deeper part of Mary, somewhere deep in her heart, told her never to forget. That what had happened to her was a part of who she was, and made her into the teenager she was today.

And despite her personality and attitude to life, Mary was a pretty one. Her long brown hair flowed down her back like melted chocolate, and her eyes were like pools of chocolate to match. The little coco girl, her father called her. Her skin was smooth and pale, and her smile was always pointed upwards. She was always happy, because she lived in her own little world; and her world was always a happy one. Her innocents was still there, burning brightly, and it would take a lot to extinguish it.

Her father had tried, but had given up when she was at an early age. Her mother still tried, but never succeeded. Because Mary did not want to grow up. She preferred the freedom and innocents of being a child; she didn't want to have to deal with the horrors of the real world. Politics confused her, and the issues scared her. And her mother's continuous persistence just made her want to scream and pull out her hair. It made her daydream more about the world she had once visited, whether it was only a dream or not. It made her want to go back there, so she could escape reality and live in what seemed to be a dream forever. She longed to return, so she could know once and for all, whether it was only a dream, or if it was something more.

Mary Gibbs was just unaware of how soon she would be returning.

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So this is just a prologue, explaining Mary's feelings and situation. Things should be picking up in the next chapter. Please drop me a review; the amount of reviews I get will determine whether I should continue this story or not. Don't just fav and alert; if you like the story, then tell me why.


	2. Stepping Through

I'd like to thank those who have reviewed this story so far! And if you haven't, then please do!

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Stepping Through

"Mary? Darling, you need to wake up."

Mary Gibbs just turned over in her bed, pulling the covers up over her head and ignoring her mother's voice.

"No now, it's way too early," she moaned in a tired voice. "Plus it's a weekend, and that means I get to sleep in."

"Not when there's jobs around the house which need to be done," her mother replied flatly. "Come on, your father is having some of his work colleagues over for lunch, and the last thing they all want to see is a moody teenager still dressed in her nightwear. And we need to get the house tidied up before they arrive."

Letting out a sigh of annoyance, Mary flung the covers back and sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes and flicking her long brown hair out of her face.

"Fine," she moaned.

Her mother smiled, satisfied, before she left the room to allow her daughter to change. Mary let out another sigh, before she turned herself round and lightly laid her feet upon the cold floor. She winced at just how cold the floor was. After giving her face a rub, she finally stood up and tiredly trudged over to her draws, opening it up and pulling out a t-shirt with the words "I'm not crazy, I'm just weird" written on the front. Throwing it down on her bed, Mary turned to her closet.

She sighed. Many times before, she had wondered if she could open the gateway to this other world herself, if it existed. Time and time again she tried, whether she was getting dressed or getting ready for bed, but whenever she did, she was always disappointed. The door would always open to reveal her clothes, hanging neatly in a row, along with her shoes in a mismatched heap at the bottom.

Mary wondered if this time, it might work. Taking in a deep breath, she reached her arm out slowly, closer and closer to the door knob. She gripped it tightly, closed her eyes, and flung the door open.

Clothes and shoes. She let out a sigh of disappointment. Since it had happened before, her disappointment didn't last for very long, and Mary just continued with her daily routine and took out a pair of jeans to put on. Once dressed she trudged downstairs into the kitchen, where her mother was making a cup of tea.

"Mary, can't you put something nicer on?" her mother asked, once she saw the t-shirt and jeans that her daughter was dressed in.

"Mum, it's not a party, I don't need to impress anyone," Mary just mumbled, sitting herself down at the breakfast table and pouring herself out a bowl of cereal.

"But you still need to look nice," her mother repeated. "I don't want your father's colleagues to be...put off. Which also means no staring off into space and no talking to those...imaginary friends of yours."

"Fine," Mary agreed reluctantly, before turning to face the thin air beside her. "Go away, Mikey. Apparently you're not wanted."

Her mother turned to her at these words, watching her daughter carefully as she talked to the blank patch of air. Definitely not normal for a teenager to be doing this.

"Mary, stop talking to thin air!" she scowled, and Mary whipped her head round to face her. "I really don't know what to do with you any more. I think it's time that we saw someone."

"Mum!" Mary exclaimed, dropping her spoon. "I don't need to see anyone! I may not be normal, but I'm happy the way I am."

"But I worry about you," her mother said. "You have no friends – imaginary ones don't count – and you just sit there all day long, cooped up in your own little world, and you talk to people who aren't even there. Maybe when you were little, it was understandable, but you're thirteen, Mary. It's time to stop living in your own mind and start growing up."

"My mind sounds a lot more pleasant," Mary resorted, picking up her spoon again and twirling her cereal around in a circle.

Before any more could be said between them, Mary's father entered the room in high spirits.

"Morning, Mary!" he greeted his daughter. "Sleep well?"

"I've had better nights," she replied, but didn't tell him about the dream she had dreamt; it was _that_ dream again, and of course, neither he nor her mum knew about that one.

"Morning, darling," he greeted his wife, kissing her on the cheek, before turning back to Mary. "Like the top, sweetheart."

Mary smiled, but her mother just scowled.

"Derrick, please, I'm trying to persuade her to put something nicer on," she explained to her husband.

"Oh, just leave her alone, Marion, she looks fine," he observed, smiling at Mary. "I'd prefer her to be herself rather than pretend to be someone she's not. And I'm sure my colleagues would agree on that. They'd get a good laugh out of her top."

Mary just stood up from her seat and slipped away, leaving her parents to debate over whether her t-shirt was comical, or whether it showed that she needed help. She retreated to her bedroom and shut the door behind her, before she walked over to her draws and opened the bottom one. Pushing aside some of her clothes, she soon came across an old journal, scruffy and untidy, which she pulled out and ran her hand across the front cover.

She sat down at her desk and opened it up, taking out a pencil from her pot. At first, Mary was unsure what to write, and what to draw, since her dream was already fading from her memory. So in the end, she scribbled down everything that she could remember. Key words were listed on the page, and she drew a few rough drawings next to them, each so familiar to her but weren't at the same time. And then, she drew a pair of eyes. A big pair of deep, blue...

"Mary!"

Mary almost leapt five feet in the air at her mother's voice, hurriedly slamming her journal shut and hiding it under various sheets of Spanish and Geometry homework.

"Y-Yes?" she replied.

"You're father's colleagues are here!" her mother called up to her. "Come and say hello!"

"OK, I'm coming," Mary sighed, leaving her journal on the desk as she left her bedroom to go downstairs.

There were about five men all standing in the doorway, all dressed in smart clothing, and her father was shaking hands with each of them. Their eyes fell on Mary as she descended the stairs.

"Ah, you must be Derrick's daughter, Mary," the first one stated, as Mary came to stand in front of them all. "He's told us a lot about you. I'm Mr Phillips."

He held out his hand, and Mary took it to shake.

"Nice t-shirt, by the way," he then added.

Mary smiled, before she stepped aside to allow them all to pass into the living room. Her father went with them, whilst her mother dragged Mary away into the kitchen to make cups of tea for all of them.

"Now, I'm only going to say this once," her mother began. "Mr Phillips wants two sugars but no milk, Mr Edwards would like just one sugar and a bit of milk, Mr Butler likes his tea with nothing else in it, Mr Richards wants three sugars and a milky one, Mr Green wants no sugar but wants milk, and you know what you father likes. Did you get all that?"

"The only words I understood were "now, I'm only going to say this once," so would you mind repeating it a bit more slowly?" Mary stated.

Her mother just rolled her eyes before shoving a tin full of biscuits into her hands.

"Just leave the tea to me and go offer them a biscuit," she said.

This Mary agreed to, so walked into the other room and did just that. Everything went as planned, and they all had lunch together; a pasta dish with fresh, home-made sauce. After this they all sat down in the living room again, laughing and joking about who was going to trick who back at the office. Mary just sat in silence, drifting off into her little dreamland, but was nudged in the side by her mother.

"No daydreaming," she told her daughter, before turning back to the conversation.

Mary did try and listen, but with absolutely no understandment as to what they were going on about, she found it very hard. She soon found herself dreaming again. This time, though, it was interrupted not by her mother, but by a sudden flash of green out the corner of her eye. Mary whipped her head round to look, but it had vanished.

"Mary, are you all right?"

She turned back to everyone, to find that they were all giving her confused looks.

"Um..." she stammered.

There it was again. A flash of green out the corner of her eye, and Mary became curious as to what it was. Plus, she was bored; she wanted to get away from this room as soon as possible.

"Um...I...I need to be excused," she finally settled for, and didn't wait for a reply before she stood up from her seat and hurried out the room.

Mary charged up the stairs, making an awful amount of noise, and burst into her room. Gasping for breath, she looked around. It was empty. But then, there was that flash of green again, and Mary spun round, just in time to see the papers blow from her desk. She slowly walked towards it, and removed her homework from the top of her journal.

It was open. Which was strange; Mary distinctly remembered slamming it shut. She took a closer look at the page which it was open on, and immediately noticed that something was missing. The one drawing which she had treasured above the rest. The picture of her and the blue monster who she had called 'Kitty'.

It was gone.

A door slammed behind her. Mary whipped round once again, and her eyes immediately fell upon the closet door. It _had_ to be it. There was no other explanation for it. Carefully and cautiously, Mary crept over to the door until she was standing directly in front of it. She reached out her arm like she had done earlier that morning, reaching out for the door knob. Her hand gripped it tightly, and closing her eyes, she turned it and flung the door open.

She wasn't surprised by what she saw. In fact, she even found herself smiling at the sight in front of her.

And so, Mary didn't hesitate to step through it.

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Into the monster world we go! Please review!


	3. Boo

I'd like to thank all those who have reviewed so far, and if you haven't done already, then please review! I would like to know what you all think of this story!

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Boo

The moment Mary set foot into the world through the closet door, she was met by a flood of bright light, presumably coming from the large glass windows above her. Mary gazed around herself. She seemed to have stepped into some sort of factory; there were a long row of desks in front of her, piled high with papers, and each had a light blue helmet sitting on the edge. The helmet on the desk in front of her looked slightly familiar.

Next to each desk was a yellow trolley, with large yellow capsules on each, which sent a shiver down Mary's spine. Something about them seemed familiar, and at the same time, scary. Mary took a few steps closer in curiosity. She was too caught up in what she was seeing in order to hear the closet door close behind her, and to hear it being lifted away. Five monsters were revealed standing behind where it had been, each staring at Mary with looks of interest, and uncertainty.

"Boo, over here!"

Mary's eyes went wide, before she whipped round with a gasp. Her eyes fell upon the five monsters, and she couldn't help but notice that three of them looked familiar; the first was small and green, with one big eye and two small horns on top of his head. The second was distinctively female, her purple scales reflecting in the sunlight and her snake-like hair looking directly at Mary. In fact, they _were_ actual snakes! The third was very large and also female, and reminded Mary of a slug, except that she was yellow, wore a red cardigan and had grey hair.

Looking at them more closely, Mary realized that she had seen them before; they were three of the monsters from her dreams, and who she had drawn and written about in her journal. The other two, though, she didn't recognize at all. One was tall and one was short, and they both wore light blue helmets – they also both had a clumsy look to them.

They all stared at each other, Mary at the monsters and the monsters at Mary, before the Medusa-like monster leaned towards the small green one.

"She doesn't seem very excited to see us," she whispered to him, but loud enough so that Mary could hear her. "Are you sure it's her, googly-bear?"

"I'm positive," he answered, before revealing the folded piece of paper in his hand. "Who else could have drawn this?"

Mary's eyes lightened up as she recognized the piece of paper; it was the drawing which had been taken from her room earlier. It made her a little more confident to take a step forwards.

"Um...th-that's...mine," she spoke up hesitantly.

"See?" the little green monster said, gesturing his arm towards Mary. "Of course, she's grown over the years, that much was expected, but that still doesn't mean to say that she's forgotten, right?"

"Why don't we just ask her if she remembers?" the slug-like monster suggested, in a voice which almost made Mary puke in her mouth.

All eyes turned on her again, and Mary felt very much like a bug under a microscope, or an animal at the zoo. And why were they looking at her expectantly?

"Boo, you do remember me, don't you?" the green monster asked hopefully.

Mary just stared at him. Of course, he looked very familiar, as she had seen him many times in her dreams, but a name didn't come to mind. It was probably just one of the factors of her dreams which disappeared during the time when she was growing up.

"Firstly, my name is Mary," she began, "and even though you all look familiar, no names come to my mind."

"Well, we're looking for a girl named 'Boo', so this can't be her if her name's Mary," the smaller monster who she didn't recognize spoke up.

"You idiot!" his taller companion said, slapping him upside the head. "Her real name isn't 'Boo'! Who would name their kid 'Boo'?"

With a raised eyebrow, Mary watched them squabble, finding it rather amusing.

"Familiarity's a start, I guess," the little green monster spoke again. "All we gotta do is jog her memory. Hey, Boo, remember this?"

He hurried over to the next stand where there was another door, and opening it up from behind, he jammed his face in a slammed it shut again. His face got all squished up, and looked rather funny, causing a smile of amusement to appear on Mary's face.

"You didn't laugh the first time round, but oh well," he said, taking his face out again. "Ring any bells? Eh?"

"Sorry, but this place just looks familiar, and that's it," Mary admitted, shrugging. "I am aware that I may have visited this place before, whether it was in a dream or not, but I can barely remember anything."

All of their faces fell, especially the green one's face, and the others all turned to him as if asking what they should do next. The green monster sighed, his eye averting to the ground and away from Mary.

"It's OK," he said finally. "We'll just take her to the back room and we'll discuss it there."

"You go on without me. I need to get back to work," the slug-like monster explained, before turning to Mary. "It was pleasant to see you again, girl."

Mary raised a questioning eyebrow as she crawled away; somehow, she found that she couldn't believe what that slug thing had just said. She certainly didn't look pleasant. She turned back to the others, and seeing their saddened expressions, she began to feel bad that she barely remembered this place and them.

_But it wasn't my fault_, she told herself in her brain.

The two dumb monsters and the female monster began to walk towards the door, whilst the little green monster grabbed a long cloak and held it out towards Mary. She gave him a questioning look.

"Yeah, despite what happened last time, the monsters here are still a bit on edge when it comes to humans," he explained to her. "So you need to cover yourself up until we get to the back room."

Mary just nodded as she took the cloak from him and proceeded to wrap it round herself.

"Um, since I probably won't be remembering your name on my own, can I ask what it is?" she asked him. "It might help me remember a bit more, if you tell me."

"It's Mike," he replied.

"Mike?" Mary echoed – she had to admit, it did sound right.

"Ring any more bells?"

"A little," she admitted. "Not very big bells, but bells, all the same."

Mike just nodded as he led her out the door. The four monsters walked along hallway after hallway with Mary, turning many corners, and the girl wondered just how big this place was. They passed by few monsters, all of which either greeted Mike as they went or didn't give them a second glance. Mary kept her head down as they walked on by.

They eventually came to a halt in front of what looked to be a rack of tools. Mary glanced upwards at it, and her gut instinct immediately told her that this was a bad place; something bad had happened here, although she couldn't quite remember what.

"I'm...I'm not going in there," she stammered, backing away a step. "I have a bad feeling about it."

"Well, at least it means you're remembering more," Mike told her, as he pulled on the lever and opened it up. "Something bad did happen here, but don't worry. That machine's gone and we now use it as a private space."

The female monster walked inside first, Mary following her cautiously after hesitating a few seconds, and Mike walked in last, leaving the two dumb monsters on guard – not the brightest idea, but still. The room which they entered was dark, with a single light shining down in the centre to reveal all sorts of furniture; a couch, a coffee table and a TV, as well as a small fridge to the side. Mary observed all this with relief, before Mike took her hand and led her across the room to where they was a small door hidden.

"In here," he told her, pushing her in.

Mary stumbled inside, to find herself in what seemed to be a small bedroom, complete with bed, bedside table and draws, as well as a closet on the other side. She was tempted to peek into it and see if it lead to another world.

"Just make yourself comfortable," Mike told her. "We'll be right outside if you need us."

She nodded and he pulled the door closed, only it didn't close properly and swung just a crack open. Mary pulled off her cloak and sat down on the bed; so much had just happened, that it was taking a while for her to process it all. All she knew was that she had ended up in the land of her dreams. Was it a dream, then? She pinched herself, but didn't wake up.

"Googly-bear, we have to."

Mary's ears quirked upwards at the sound of the female monster's voice, speaking in a hushed tone. Curious, she crept forwards towards the door, and positioned her eye so that it was watching the two monsters outside. They seemed to be having an argument.

"No, we can't do this to him!" Mike protested. "It'll break his heart when he sees that she can barely remember anything!"

"But it was also the reason why we brought her here, remember?" the female monster explained. "You know how down he's been feeling lately. Just one look at her will probably make him happier than he's ever been."

"I just can't do this to him," Mike said sadly. "If anything, we need to get her to remember first before we show her to him. Then at least it won't be as hard."

"That's better," the female monster soothed him. "We brought her here for a reason, Mike. We can't just send her back now. And I bet she'll want to see him, too, even if she doesn't remember."

Mary took her eye away from the door and went to sit back down on the bed again. Remember who? Who was this monster (she couldn't say person, really) they were talking about? Was he someone important? She didn't know, but she had a feeling that she was going to find out very soon.

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Don't worry, Sully will be making his appearance in the next chapter! Please review!


	4. Meeting Sulley

So here's the reunion chapter. I hope it lives up to the high expectations I know you're all bound to have! Enjoy!

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Meeting Sulley

Plodding heavily along the corridors, Sulley slowly made his way to the secret back room he and Mike had made, so they and a few others could have some private space away from work and whenever they just needed time to themselves. Other monsters greeted him as he passed, and checking that the coast was clear, Sulley turned the corner quickly and arrived in front of the large rack of tools. What was strange was that the two janitors, Needleman and Smitty, were standing outside, in a way which made it look like they were guarding the door.

"Uh, guys?" Sulley began, confusion shown in his voice. "Guarding the door like that makes it all the more obvious of there being something there. We want to keep this room a secret, remember. And if you don't mind, could you possible step aside and let me pass?"

He went to walk past them, but the two monsters blocked him. Sulley raised an eyebrow in even more confusion.

"We, er, can't do that Mr Sullivan," Smitty said nervously. "Mr Wazowski said that we needed to guard the door from you so that you couldn't come in, otherwise the surprise will be ruined."

"You idiot!" Needleman snapped, whacking his shorter companion upside the head. "You're not supposed to tell him that!"

"Oh, sorry," Smitty apologized, turning back to Sulley. "I shouldn't have told you that. Forget you ever heard anything about the surprise behind this door."

"Shut up! You're making it worse!" Needleman yelled, slapping his hand over Smitty's mouth.

As he began to shake him, Sulley took the opportunity to sneak past the two goofy monsters, opening the door and stepping inside.

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Hearing the door open, both Mike and Celia turned, and both gasped when they recognized Sulley walking into the room, briefcase in hand.

"Sulley!" Mike exclaimed, rather awkwardly as if he was hiding something. "What, er, what are you doing here? You're not supposed to finish until later."

Hearing this new monster enter, Mary allowed her ears to quirk upwards. The name Sulley sounded familiar, but from where? Getting up from the bed, Mary quietly crept over to the door and pressed her ear against it, listening in on the conversation.

"Yeah, well, I decided to finish early," Sulley told his little green friend, sighing. "My mind was on other things, and I couldn't seem to concentrate on my work."

He slumped down on the couch, allowing another deep sigh to escape him. Mary bit her lip in concentration. That voice...it sounded familiar, too. She was tempted to open the door just a crack to see who this new monster was, but feared that they would see her. Mike had already almost caught her listening in on their last conversation, and she didn't want to risk it again.

"I...I dreamed about her again last night," Sulley finally admitted. "She...she didn't recognize me, and was cowering away from me, like she did during that demonstration. And I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to go, or who to turn to."

Mike bit his lip with worry. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought. He would definitely need to get Boo's memories back before he could show her to Sulley, just in case that dream became a reality. Who knew how the girl would react to him? Sure, she hadn't been afraid of him or the others, but what of Sulley? He decided it would be better not to risk it just yet; her memories first, then Sulley.

"Don't worry," Mike assured his larger friend, walking over to him and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It was just a nightmare."

"I should never have stopped going," Sulley told himself, placing his face into his large hands. "I know that the CDA told me to stop, saying that it was too dangerous, but I should never have listened to them. I bet she won't even recognize me now."

Mary felt a wave of guilt wash through her as she listened. She knew that this monster was talking about her; that much was obvious. But the way he was talking about her...it made her feel guilty for forgetting. How could she have forgotten someone like him? Mary tried to press her ear closer to the door, but as she did, she self-consciously rested her hand on the door knob, and it turned itself under her weight. The door burst open, and in shock, Mary fell and hit the floor, allowing a surprised yelp to escape her mouth.

"OUCH!"

Immediately, all heads turned in her direction, Mike and Celia in shock at Mary's sudden entrance. Mary regained herself and stood up, brushing herself off whilst muttering to herself angrily. Sulley, very slowly, turned to look too, and his eyes went wide as he gasped. It had been years since he had last seen her, but he would know her anywhere.

"Boo?"

Mary's eyes went wide as she froze. Her eyes very slowly raised, and met the sky blue ones of the monster she had heard, and instantly, she recognized him. It was _him_. It was the one who had been in her dreams the most. The one she had drawn when she was a little girl. And what he had said – that one word – sent the memories flooding back to her like a tidal wave of memories crashing onto the shores of her brain. Images flashed before her very eyes; going through the closet door, running around the restaurant and causing havoc, the electricity going all funny whenever she laughed, drawing the pictures, dressing up, running around the factory, the scary machine in the very room she was standing in, the roller-coaster of doors, saying goodbye to the monster she referred to as...

"Kitty?"

A smile – his first smile in months – lit up his face, and all his fear and worry immediately left his brain. She _did_ remember him. She had also grown, but that much was expected. But what had he been so worried about? He asked himself this question as he slowly approached Mary, so as not to startle her in any way. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off the moment he was reunited with her again. Mary, on the other hand, had other ideas. Unable to contain herself, she ran up to him and threw her arms around his middle, burying her face into his blue, hairy chest.

The fear of startling her immediately left his brain, too. Not even a second past before his large arms wrapped themselves around her, hugging her tightly, but not too tightly. He knew his own strength. He then picked her up and spun her round above his head, Mary crying out with laughter and Sulley equally enjoying it. Mike and Celia looked on, the worry of Boo not remembering leaving them, too. Sulley placed her down, the two of them locking eyes with one another.

And it was like they'd never been separated.

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I hope that was good enough, and I hope I wrote Sulley in character. Never written him before. Please review!


	5. Dressing Up

I'm sorry this chapter took so long. Those of you who saw the note on my profile page should know why. If you didn't, then I got my AS results, and well, weren't as good as I was hoping they would be. We'll just leave it at that.

I've also been having a lot of reviews where people have been telling me that there's actually going to be a Monsters Inc. 2. I am aware of this, so stop telling me. It was just a rumour when I started this story, and it was officially announced sometime afterwards. So please, stop mentioning it in reviews. I'm getting tired of it.

Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, and please leave a review once you've read it.

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Dressing Up

Sometimes, when friends had not seen each other in a long time, it was nice just to look at them in silence, to see how much each other had changed over the time period they had been separated. Both Mary and Sulley thought this to be a good thing to do. And it was exactly what they found themselves doing. Mary sat on her friend's lap, sideways, and gazing up at him with her big brown eyes; and he had one strong arm around her, and was giving her an equal gaze with his own blue eyes. Neither wanted to say anything. All that needed to be said was being said with their eyes.

Sulley knew that his little Boo would have changed over the years. It had been, after all, eleven years since he had last seen her. Back then, she had just been a curious two-year-old with a need to make mischief and cause trouble. Now, she had grown up into a beautiful young girl, her innocents still intact, and the mischief still shown in her eyes. She had changed in so many ways, but at the same time, she hadn't changed at all.

On the other hand, Mary had decided that her friend hadn't changed one bit since she had been away. He was still like a big, cuddly teddy bear who for some reason, resembled a kitty. She wasn't really sure how, but he just did, and it was what she had called him all those years ago. She guessed it was because she loved cats so much, and it was the first furry thing she could think of at that age. The only difference she could see in him was that there were dark rings under his eyes, but she knew why. She had overheard his previous conversation.

It had been silent for the past couple of minutes, and both Mike and Celia were wondering what was going through the pair's heads. They had been staring at each other intently, so there was clearly _something_ going on.

"Do you think they can communicate telepathically?" Mike whispered to Celia.

"Oh Mike, shush!" Celia hushed him. "They haven't seen each other in years. They're probably just getting a good look at each other. Taking it all in."

Neither Mary nor Sulley seemed to acknowledge the two of them talking. But it soon became clear that Mary was intending to say something; she raised a lone hand and placed it on top of Sulley's, her mouth opening and closing.

"I..." she began, but hesitated.

Her forehead was screwed up, as if deep in thought.

"Go on, I'm listening," Sulley encouraged her.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I do want to say something to you. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to you, but I can't seem to say them. I mean, I'm not sure which one I should say first."

"Don't worry, I'll be patient," Sulley assured her, patting her softly on the head. "Make sure those things you want to say don't get jumbled up in your head."

Mary smiled weakly at him. It really was good to be back.

"Why don't you start by telling us a bit about yourself?" Mike suggested, taking a step forwards. "You know, like where you live, your family, what interests you..."

She turned to him, and her face brightened up in realization, as if she had only just acknowledged him present.

"Mike!" she exclaimed happily. "I remember you, too! And your girlfriend!"

Mike blushed at how she had said "girlfriend", and Celia just giggled secretively.

"Just call me Celia, sweety," she told Mary. "And yes, I am his "girlfriend", so to speak."

She winked, and Mary almost chocked on her laughter. Mike was not amused.

"OK, OK, moving away from that, please?" he began again with an embarrassed tone in his voice. "Back to Boo, could you start off by telling us about yourself?"

"Not much to tell, but sure," Mary began.

So, Mary told them everything. About how the dreams and memories of the monster world never left her, and that they haunted her for the rest of her childhood. She told them about school, and about how even though she didn't have any friends, she didn't mind, since she could make up friends to play with. She told them about her parents; how her mum wanted her to grow up, and how her dad didn't mind what she did. She finished of by telling them about how her dreams began to fade, which was why she made her journal in the first place.

"It was the one you took the picture from, Mike," she finished. "No one but me knows about it, since I don't know how they'd all react. My dad would probably be OK with it, but my mum would probably take one look at it, throw it out, and ground me for a year away from everything apart from school."

"That's tough, kid," Mike said.

"So you're not happy there?" Sulley asked.

"Well, it's complicated," Mary explained. "Life there is hard, and I always long to escape from it. Like I've done now. But I know I can't completely, because of my parents. My dad would worry sick, and my mum. As much as she annoys me, she's still my mum."

"I understand," Sulley sighed. "They are your family, after all. But when will you be going back?"

"Depends," Mary replied. "How much time passes in the real world and this one?"

"Well, according to what Roz told me, it's complicated," Celia explained. "Time passes exactly the same, but when a human from your world comes into ours, time seems to work funny. As if it knows that person will be missed. It carries on as normal, but when you go back, it reverses itself back to the exact moment you stepped through."

"Wow," Mary said. "I guess that does explain how I wasn't missed on my first trip here. So no matter how long I stay here, I'll go back at the exact moment I stepped through?"

"That's what Roz told me," Celia replied.

"And Roz knows about that sort of stuff," Mike added.

"I'm guessing Roz is the slug-like monster, right?" Mary guessed.

"Bingo," Mike told her.

"So how long will you be staying here?" Sulley asked hopefully.

"Not sure," Mary replied. "Longer than last time, though, so don't worry yourself. And now that I know this place wasn't just my childish imagination playing tricks on me, I can visit more often, right?"

"Roz will have to approve of your visits, first, since she's head of the CDA," Mike explained. "It was lucky she even approved of this one. Not to mention that you can't get through without your door at a station and active."

"But still, I'll be able to visit, right?" Mary asked again.

"Of course, since you're here now," Mike replied again. "Unless your door gets shredded. And I'll have to fix it again."

"Good," Mary sighed in relief. "But I won't be going back for a while. So, can you guys show me around? Or do I have to stay in here the whole time?"

Mike and Celia exchanged glances. This was one thing they hadn't debated.

"Well, like I said before, the other monsters here still aren't that comfortable around human kids," Mike explained hesitantly.

"Unless we dress her up again?" Sulley suggested, picking Mary up and placing her on the floor whilst he stood himself up. "In fact, I still have her costume right here."

He pulled a small case from underneath the sofa, and from inside it, he produced a small, faded costume made of leather with a single eyeball on top of it. Mary recognized it immediately.

"Hey, that was the thing I spent most of my time dressed in," she remembered.

Sulley smiled down at her.

"Now, all we have to do is put it on you again, and..."

But as he fit it over her head, he realized that it was too small for her. It only covered her head, and refused to go any lower. In his excitement, he had forgotten that she had grown, and evidently, grown out of the costume.

"Ur...this could be a problem," he said with a hesitant voice.

"You think?" Mary said with a sarcastic tone, her arms folded across her front.

"Don't worry, don't worry, we'll just make you another costume," Sulley assured her.

He looked towards the sofa, and then towards the bedroom where he could see the bedsheets on the bed.

"Sulley, do we have to use this stuff?" Mike questioned him. "I paid good money for it!"

"Mike, it's for Boo," Sulley explained. "She needs this stuff more than we do, and you know it."

Mike looked at Mary, and sensing he needed a bit of convincing, she made a puppy-dog face. It worked, and he gave in.

"OK," he sighed. "But it better look convincing."

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"Seriously, _this_ is why teenagers get moody."

Mary was standing in the centre of the room, material from both the sofa and the bedsheets draped around her. It did not look convincing at all. From what she could guess, she looked like one of those kids on Halloween, who couldn't afford to buy their costume in the store, so had their parents make one for them.

"I agree with her," Mike agreed. "Not only does it look ridiculous, but it _does not _look convincing. Her costume before was better than this!"

Sulley looked at Mary closely, and had to admit that his friend was right. She still looked too obvious.

"Step aside, boys," Celia spoke up, pushing Mike and Sulley aside as she made her way over to Mary. "Let the professional handle this."

She led Mary into the bedroom, and from behind the closed door, both Sulley and Mike could hear the snipping and ripping of fabric, as well as Mary's surprised yelps and gasps. It had barely been a minute when the door was opened once more, and the boys beheld a changed Mary.

She wore tights on both her arms and legs, purple in colour, and a small green dress similar to Celia's. Her neck was covered with a high collar, and she wore a wig on her head with fake snakes. Now, she looked like a true monster, and very convincing.

"Wow," Mike gasped. "Great job, Celia."

Celia giggled, blushing.

"If anyone asks you, Mary, you're Celia's cousin, Moody," Sulley told her.

"Is that a slam on me being a teenager?" Mary asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it's a common name here," Celia assured her.

"Oh, good," Mary sighed.

"Well, now that she's ready, we can show her around Monstropolis," Mike announced, before he led the way out the door, Celia, Sulley and Mary following along behind.

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Sorry if that chapter seemed a little slow. Hopefully things should be picking up in the next one. Hopefully...

Anyway, please leave a review! It's them which keep me going!


	6. Author's Note: Sorry

I really hate to do this, but...I'm gonna have to put this story up for adoption.

Before you guys start insulting me, let me explain. When I first started this story I had it all mapped out, and was inspired enough to write it. But then obsessions change, I lost the inspiration, and I had to try and rethink the plot. I was hoping to save this story with my last Author's Note, but barely any of you helped. A thank you to those of you who suggested ideas; they were OK, but weren't enough to bring the inspiration back.

And I'm a little disappointed with the sequel-now-prequel film Pixar is bringing out. I'm really not too keen on the idea.

I didn't have the heart to delete this story (since so many people liked it), so I'm putting it up for adoption instead. It's a first come, first served basis. Whoever asks first gets the story.

Again, I'm really sorry, but I felt it would be better to do this and have someone else continue it rather than the story sitting on my account and doing nothing.


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